Dragon Age Inquisition is the Longest and Most Epic Dragon Age Game
As a hardcore fan who has played through the Dragon Age series multiple times, I can definitively say Dragon Age: Inquisition provides the lengthiest and most content-rich experience out of all three core titles.
Inquisition Boasts the Longest Main Storyline
When judging the games solely on their critical path playtimes, Inquisition comes out on top as the longest single-player campaign:
| Game | Main Story Length |
|---|---|
| Dragon Age: Inquisition | 46.5 hours |
| Dragon Age: Origins | 40.5 hours |
| Dragon Age 2 | 35 hours |
Inquisition surpasses Origins by roughly 6 hours based on averages from completion data on HowLongToBeat.com. Dragon Age 2 trails even further behind.
Why does Inquisition have the most lengthy main quest? A few reasons stand out:
- Massive open world zones packed with objectives related to the core story arcs
- Investigation sequences with the Inquisition that add depth not seen in past games
- dungeons ever seen in a Dragon Age game
- Streamlined quest tracking to prevent aimless wandering
Unlike Origins and Dragon Age 2‘s more compact overworld areas, Inquisition enabled the developers to craft sprawling regions brimming with critical path content. Both the Hinterlands and Emprise du Lion offer enough story-driven hours to be full RPGs by themselves!
Meanwhile, the War Table missions provide intricate operations that delve deeper into the Inquisition‘s influence and power struggles across Thedas. With each playthrough, I discover new agent quests or hidden storyline impacts based on my choices.
Even More Playtime for Completionist Runs
As someone striving for 100% completion on multiple class builds, I can personally confirm Dragon Age: Inquisition dwarfs the amount of content in past series entries.
Here‘s how the estimated playtimes compare:
- Dragon Age: Inquisition – 127 hours
- Dragon Age: Origins – 87 hours
- Dragon Age 2 – 75 hours
That‘s over 40 extra hours tackling every side quest and hidden secret compared to Origins! And Inquisition leaves Dragon Age 2 even further behind in the dust.
Diving into the myriad additional activities is what took my total playthrough hours into the high hundreds across multiple classes. There‘s just so many nooks and crannies packed with powerful items, obscure collectibles, bonus storylines, and more.
I‘ll never forget my first Inquisitor uncovering hidden ocularum shards across the world to slowly uncover the secrets behind dwarven runes. Or stumbling upon the unique specialization quests to unlock awesome new combat styles like the Mortalitasi necromancer specialization.
Sprawling Open Worlds Full of Things to Do
A key reason you can spend 3-4x as long playing Inquisition compared to earlier Dragon Age entries is due to its vastly larger and more detailed open world zones.
The critical paths will guide you through places like the Storm Coast, Hinterlands, and Emerald Graves. But you could happily spend an extra 10-20 hours in EACH location completing additional content like:
- Clearing enemy encampments
- Securing resources for the Inquisition
- Taking on High Dragon boss fights
- Completing companion personal questlines
- Uncovering unique hidden side dungeons
- Gathering crafting materials
- Solving mystery shards/landmarks
I was amazed at the depth offered within just the opening Hinterlands region. The vast stretch of terrain looks small on the overall map, yet has enough optional objectives to fill an entire RPG. And that diversity continues through every other major area.
They created a true open world action-RPG in the vein of Skyrim, letting you freely wander off the critical path for scores of extra hours. I wish they retained this design for Dragon Age 4!
Play as the New Qunari Race for More Replayability
Another way Inquisition really starts to outpace the earlier Dragon Age games is its introduction of the Qunari as a new playable race.
Bringing a fresh race into the mix added a ton of replay value by letting me experience the epic storyline through a completely unique perspective.
As the towering and powerful Qunari Inquisitor, I intimidated opponents in dialogue, unlocked special race-specific battle talents, and influenced how certain characters interacted with me. Plus they have really awesome-looking horns on the character creation screen!
Being able to play as an entirely new species distinguishes Inquisition from the past Dragon Age games. And it helped multiply the available playtime from trying different fantasy races.
It‘s Clear Inquisition is the Longest Dragon Age Game
While I thoroughly enjoyed my adventures across Ferelden and Kirkwall in Origins and Dragon Age 2, Inquisition stands tall as the biggest and most content-packed Dragon Age game to date.
Its epic storyline already runs nearly 6+ hours longer than Origins on average. But completing all the open world side zones, hidden dungeons, specialization quests, and companion tales can push playtime into triple-digit hours.
Adding the option to play as fan-favorite races like the mystical Qunari also multiplies the available adventures. After several complete runs as various races and classes, I‘m STILL discovering new hidden corners and story outcomes across Thedas!
If you crave the deepest dive into the Dragon Age universe with seemingly endless things to do, I passionately recommend picking up Dragon Age Inquisition. Just be sure to kiss hundreds of hours of your free time goodbye once you boot it up!
What are your favorite memories and playtime totals from exploring these iconic fantasy RPGs? I‘d love to hear other fans‘ experiences in the comments!
